Transferring numerous individual fluid samples or a large volume of fluid into numerous individual fluid samples in industrial and institutional laboratories for various diagnostic and research purposes has become standard procedure. Unfortunately, due to the number of samples or quantity of fluid being transferred, the procedure has become cumbersome and laborious. Devices known heretofore to assist the laboratory practitioners have been less than satisfactory in that they operate in a series of steps, they fail to maintain the homogeneity of individual fluid samples being transferred or they are complex and expensive. For instance, automatic pipetting machines, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,337,535, 3,269,800 and 3,261,208, involve devices which draw vacuum upon supply containers to displace the fluid samples into uptake containers. There is additionally an automated flow system as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,245,042 wherein the homogeneity of individual fluid samples being transferred is sacrificed. Still further, there is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,231,989 a multi-channel system for handling immobilized substances in the shortest time possible. However, this device requires the use of a piston-cylinder unit connected to each container as a means to provide a vacuum source.
It is apparent from the above brief overview that there are commercial needs to provide apparatuses and methods that can handle a large number of individual fluid samples in the shortest time possible without interferring with the homogeneity, integrity, purity, and so forth, of the fluid samples being transferred.